Disclosed herein are high temperature dielectric composites, methods of manufacture thereof and articles comprising the same.
Dielectric materials that contain polymers have long been regarded as ideal choices for many power electronics, power conditioning, and pulsed power applications. Dielectric materials that store energy electrostatically are ubiquitous in advanced electronics and electric power systems. Compared to their ceramic counterparts, polymer dielectrics enjoy inherent advantages of scalability, low density and the ability to be shaped into intricate configurations in addition to their higher breakdown strengths. However, the best commercially available dielectric polymer represented by bi-axially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) can operate only at temperatures below 105° C.
In general, polymers begin to undergo thermal deformation and degradation at relatively low temperatures and hence fail to meet the ever-rising demand for electricity under extreme environmental conditions experienced in applications such as hybrid and electric vehicles, aerospace power electronics, and downhole oil and gas exploration.
Because of the inability of dielectric composites containing polymers to operate at high temperatures, thermal management is always used in order to deploy polymers in high-temperature dielectric applications. For example, to accommodate BOPP film capacitors in power inverters of hybrid and electric vehicles cooling systems have to be employed to decrease the environmental temperature from ˜140 to ˜70° C.
This increases the weight, volume and energy consumption to the integrated power system and reduces system reliability and efficiency. The upsurge in lightweight and flexible electronic devices has also created a tremendous demand for high-temperature dielectric polymers, as the heat generated by electronic devices and circuitry increases exponentially with miniaturization and functionality.
It is therefore desirable to have dielectric composites that contain polymers but that can withstand elevated temperatures and other extreme conditions experienced in certain applications.